Smallville's Pal, Jimmy Olsen

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Aaron Ashmore on dating Supergirl and driving with Doomsday.

By Eric Goldman

On Smallville, Jimmy Olsen serves a role he traditionally has as a normal, nice guy, yet also does a couple of things previous versions of the character could only dream of – like say, dating Supergirl. However, it's Chloe (Alison Mack) who Jimmy has most been involved with, which led to his proposal to her in the Season 7 finale.

I recently visited the set of Smallville, where production is underway on Season 8, which debuts next Thursday. I sat down with Aaron Ashmore to find out where Jimmy Olsen figures into the story this year; what his dynamic might be with new characters Davis Bloome (AKA Doomsday) and Daily Planet boss Tess Mercer; and where the character might go in the future.

IGN TV: Two years ago, you were the new guy. Now, do you find yourself giving the newest cast members, like Sam Witwer ["Davis Bloome"] and Cassidy Freeman ["Tess Mercer"] info if they have questions?

Aaron Ashmore: Yeah, kind of, but Alison [Mack] said something to me the other day. She was talking about something [from an earlier season] and I said, "Oh, I wasn't here." She's just like, "…Oh yeah! You've only been around for a couple of years!" It's that thing where it all melds together and I don't feel like I can lead everyone around and be like, "So look, this is how this works!" It's not so much that, but it's cool to have new people come in and it's great energy. It's fun to have new people to play with, so it's cool.

Aaron Ashmore as Jimmy Olsen in Smallville

IGN: The classic depiction of Jimmy is a very nice, earnest guy – maybe a little dorky, but not in a bad way. But I was thinking how your Jimmy, man, he's in a love triangle last year with Chloe and Supergirl! That's a new situation for him.

Ashmore: Yeah, totally. But I think at the same time, he does still have those qualities. Sometimes I'm like, "What are these hot chicks doing with Jimmy!?" He's insecure and he's a goofball, but I think there's something very appealing about that. There's an honesty about him. He's just being who he is, and it is a goofball and it is insecure, but it's kind of cool to have the balance of that – to be able to be kind of a dorky and a geek and stuff and still get the girl. That's the dream, right? To just be who we are and still get the hot chicks. I think it's pretty cool.

IGN: Last we saw, you'd just proposed and then your possible fiancé was dragged away in front of you for some big legal issues. So that begs two questions – what's going on with a potential marriage and also what's going on with Chloe's legal woes?

Ashmore: Well, it's amazing how legal situations, if you have an in, you can just get somebody to sneak you out of that. So, that plays out how it's going to – it's a plot point and I don't want to give anything away too much. But the marriage thing, yeah, we're going towards a marriage, which is very exciting and kind of fun, because I'm 28 years old and nowhere near ready to get married and not in that position at all. So it's kind of interesting to just be going through this stuff. Like, they're having an engagement party and all these kind of things that lead up to a marriage. So it's actually kind of an interesting spot to be at. But there are some kinks along the road, so we'll see. I'm still curious, are we gonna get to the marriage? There's bound to be some things that are gonna pop up and stuff, so I'm curious to see how it plays out myself.

IGN: With Jimmy in other incarnations, we often didn't see his personal life or dating life. Has it been a pleasant surprise for you that you have been able to delve into this stuff with him?

Ashmore: Absolutely. And I think that what you say is very interesting, because that's what's been the focus of Jimmy on the show, I think – is the relationship with Chloe and the romance and stuff like that. His relationship with Clark and that more iconic way we know Jimmy hasn't been developed as much. There's been a little bit of animosity and insecurity between those two, so that to me is interesting, that they've chosen to play it [that way]. Chloe's always been in the middle. That was the introduction and their connection. But I think now that they're both working at the Daily Planet, they're going to be working on stories together and there's going to be more of a chance for them to develop a relationship; just the two of them, without hanging out with Chloe. So I think that's going to be fun and interesting to see how it plays out.